Meyer Now Second Highest Paid Coach In College Football

Meyer Now Second Highest Paid Coach In College Football

The stakes are getting higher the college football leagues and every team is looking to do whatever it takes to get stronger. Ohio State football is already known as one of the best in the country and it just strengthened its position by renewing the contract of Coach Urban Meyer. He is now bound to stay with the school up to the 2020 season.

Meyer's new contract gives him $6.5 million a year which is a handsome improvement over his previous annual take of $4.9 million. Thanks to his success in the previous season culminating in last year's national title, he was able to negotiate the increase with the powers that be. Meyer and the Buckeyes had an impressive 3 seasons going 38-3.

He now has the distinction of being the highest paid coach in all of the Big Ten conference. Only one college coach is paid higher in the entire country. It's certainly a career milestone and one that has the full support of Ohio State's Director of Athletics.

Gene Smith cited Meyer's excellence at his job as the key factor in this change. Under his guidance, the Buckeyes have excelled both on the field and off the field. The coach has initiated programs like Real Life Wednesdays to teach life skills, helped organize job fairs, and encouraged internships. The senior members of the team were even able to increase their graduation success rate to 78% which is the highest ever recorded.

Yet another perk for Meyer is that the new rate is retroactive to February 2014. It is now up for approval by the Board of Trustees. Their decision is expected to be released after their meeting in early June.

The raise will start off with $5.8 million this year and climb higher until the annual figure reaches $6.5 million. This magnitude of salary is not unheard of. Nick Saban, the coach of Alabama's Crimson Tide enjoys a yearly salary of $7 million for his efforts.